Weak multifidus

Hello there, I'm currently 19 years old and have been having very bad back pain for almost two years. Back during my senior wrestling season I through my hips/back out of alignment. My lower back hurt but not to an unbearable level. Every time I visited the chiropractor, I would get readjusted but then soon after come back out of alignment. The chiropractor told me to strengthen myself in the correct alignment. Doing straight leg dead lifts, I bulged my L5 S1 disc. This was about a year and a half ago. I went through PT for it but the pain never got better. Then after 6 months I went back to a different chiropractor and deep tissue massage person. They told me by that time that the disc was better (which an MRI proved) and to begin working out again. The pain got better to a degree but I still hurt a lot at times. Then I figured out that the last bit of pain was due to lumbar instability. That my inner muscles, pelivc floor, tva, and multifidus, needed to be worked out to fix the pain. They said that my right multifidus was weaker than the left. Anyway, I started on pt for that almost 4 months ago and there has been no relief in pain. In fact, it feels like it hurts now more than right before I started pt. I've visited more than one place and each person gives me stability workouts that don't work. I feel like why they haven't been working is because until recently, I didn't know that you're supposed to feel it in your lower abs when doing the workouts. I try very hard to focus on pulling in the stomach and focusing on the lower abs but it's like they won't activate. I've tried every workout I can find but every core workout i do, the upper/middle abs seem to take over. It's like the lower part won't even fire off. I don't know what to do and I'm sick of being in this bad of pain, especially at night times.

Comments for Weak multifidus

It does sound as if you in a bit of a muddle and it has to be said that the wrestling that you mention and the double leg deadlifts probably have to be the worst things for a back (sorry to be depressing!).Also if you are very fit and doing very strenuous exercises it tends to be difficult to bring on the more subtle underlying muscles such as the deep abdominals and multifidus. Also, if you are doing very strenuous workout, the stronger muscles tend to keep switching on first which keeps the weaker more subtle ones inhibited. What I'm saying he is that you might have to lay off everything for a while and start from the simple basics and work up. I say this because I find that super-strong and fit people are some of the hardest bad backs to treat, whereas little old ladies who virtually on a lift cup of tea, do brilliantly! You won't want to but you gotta hear this!You have to come everything down.I'm glad you have had an MRI because my first thought, before reading that far, is that you may have had a very small fracture in your bank brought on by the wrestling. Assuming that is not the case then you have to just be patient – but more importantly of all – be gentle!One of the most effective multifidus exercises of all is simply bending forward, hanging for a moment like a gorilla, and then unfurling, cog by cog, back home back to vertical. You will feel weak levels because your spine will want to 'jump over' this part of your spine on the way up, which you must try to resist. Furthermore, you should not do this bending and unfurling exercise initially more than TWICE, two times per day only – otherwise the bank will be very sore indeed!You might like to go to the www.simplebackpain.com website to read about back strengthening exercisesHope this helps,Sarah

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